Manufacture of surgical lint



(No Model.) 3 SheetsSneet 1.

W; T. BROWNE.

MANUFACTURE OF SURGIOAL LINT.

No. 282,264. Patented July 31. 1883.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. T. BROWNE.

MANUFACTURE OF SURGICAL LINT.-

, 282,264. Patented July 31. 1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Grrrcni.

WILLIAM T. BROVVNE, OF ORANGE, NEXV, JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF SURGICAL LINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 282,264, dated July 31, 1883, Application filed June 19, 1883. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NVILLIAM T. BROWNE, a subject ofthe Queen of Great Britain, and residing in Orange,-EsseX county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of and Machines for the Manufacture of Surgical Lint and I do hereby de clare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part. of this specification.

' I 5 The object of this invention is to more perfcctly and quickly manufacture absorbent lint from any textile fabric, either of linen, cotton, or other fiber, for surgical or other purposes. It consists inthe arrangements and combinations of parts and in the process hereinafter set forth, and finally embodied in the claims. Referring to the accompanying drawings, in

' which similar letters of reference indicate like is a side elevation, and Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is a rear elevation, of my improved device. Fig.- 8, Sheet 3,.is a plan of the same; and Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of a cushion forming a part thereof.

I11 said device, a is a frame, constructed of iron or other suitable material, upon which is arranged and secured the hereinafter-described mechanism.

. B is a knife bar, frame, or carrier, to which 3 5 a knife, 0, is secured by screws or otherwise, i which knife-carrier is arranged in or on a car- 'riage, d, having a horizontal movement on the frame a. The said knife-carrier is arranged in or on the carriage d in slotted bearings, whereby the former is allowed avertical movement independent of the movement of the carriage, as well as a horizontal movement with the carriage. crumed levers e e, asat g g, which levers are actuated by eccentrics h 71 the ends of said levers with which said eccentrics engage having both vertical and horizontal movements, While the fulcrumal ends have horizontal movements alone, with the carriagecl. Upon 50. said levers c e rest directly or indirectly, and

parts in each of the figures, Figure 1, Sheet 1,

Upon said carriage are ful at points between the fulcrumal and opposite ends thereof, the extremities of the knife-carrier, whereby the latter is given with the knife thereon the double movement before men tioned. l

The shaft upon which the eccentrics work is actuated by any suitable device, but preferably by the pulleys 70. Upon said. shaft is also arranged a worm, m, actuated by the wormwheel a, by which and the angle gear-wheels 0 and 19 motion is transmitted to a friction roll, 1*, which feeds the cloth or fabric to the knife 0. v I

An elastic spring, 25, or springs formed of metal or other elastic material. is arranged, in connection with the knife-carrier, to regulate the pressure of the knife upon the fabric from which the lint is manufactured, to adapt said knife to any peculiarities in said fabric; A proper device-such as the ratchet-and-pawl attachment v-is provided to increase or di minish the tension of the springs.

Beneath the knife, and co-operating there with in the linting process, is arranged a cushion or bed, w, to give a uniform bearing for the 7 5 scraping or abrading edge of the said knife.

The fabric passes between said knife and bed, as will be well understood. Said bed is formed of rubber or other substance, or a substance covered with rubber or other elastic material, or-and this I prefer'because of its peculiar adaptability-a tube or jacket of rubber or other non-porous material filled with water or other fluid. After passing from the lintingknife, where the woven nature of the fabric is to a great extent broken upand changed into What is known as surgeons lint, the sheet passes over a roll, a, from which it passes to the floor, or to a receptacle for it, and from thence it is packed for the market.-

The feed-roller may be a frictional device or otherwise.

The operation of the machine and the process ofconverting the fabric are substantially as follows: The cloth is placed in rolls or folds at 5 the front of the machine, with the weft-threads or shute parallel with the feed-roller. The goods being properly arranged in the machine, and motion being given to the latter by the pulleys 7c, arranged on the main shaft, the said goods pass beneath the knives while said knives are operating to lint the same. The eccentrics cause the knife to rise and travel toward the feed, then to fall into engagement with the cloth, the springs adding pressure to said knife, and to move backward, giving an abrading or scraping action, thus producing a pile, or a soft absorbent body known as lint. The knife, in its said passage backward or from the friction-roll, withdraws the weft-threads from the cloth, carrying them throughthe warp'a short distancesay half an inch'and at the same time scraping the warp, although not entirely severing the thread, and closely packing the fiber from said warp with the with-' drawn weft at backward end of the course or movement of the knife, and thus forming the soft and absorbent fabric before mentioned.

It is evident that equivalent mechanical ele- 2o ments may be employed to produce the results herein set forth, and therefore I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact construction herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 'is 1. The process of converting woven fabric into a sheet of lint'to wit, of withdrawing the weft-threads through the warp. and at the same time scraping or abrading said warp and pack- 0 ing the abraded fiber-or loose fiber resulting from the scraping process-with said weft and theremaining warp, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In combination, a linting-knife having a 3 5 compound reciprocating movement, and an elastic cushion arranged to co-operate.therewith in the linting process, as set forth,

3. I A linting-machine having therein a reciprocating linting-knife, and a roller adapted to carry the material from which thelint is formed to said knife, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a linting-machine, the combination, with alinting-knife, of a cushion composed of a non-porous jacket filled with water or other liquid, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.

5. In a linting-machine, the linting-knife having a combined vertical and horizontal motion and a reciprocating motion, a feeding device, and an elastic cushion, between which and the knife the unlinted fabric passes, said parts being arranged and combined substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In combination, the frame a, reciprocating knife having a compound action to lint the fabric, an elastic cushion to cooperate with the knife, the knife-carrier, the'carriage (l, the levers c, eccentrics and a feeding device, all said parts being arranged and operating sub stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The linting-machine herein shown and described, consistingof the frame a, carrier B, knife 0, carriage d, levers e, eccentric g, worm m, worm-wheel n, angle-gears 0 p, feed-roll r, a cushion, 111, spring 25, and mechanism to in crease or diminish the tension of said spring, all said parts being arranged and combined substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of June, 1883.

\VILLIAM BROVVNE.

\Vitnesses 2 F. F. CAMPBELL,

CHARLES H. PELL. 

